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Book Description

By using the energy of the land, some humans have found they can develop extraordinary abilities. At the age of seventeen, these warriors, magicians, chemists, and psychics are allowed the opportunity to train at the Academy, increasing their opportunity for a well-paying career. But there’s a catch. They must fight beside the Army if requested by their king. Most aren’t concerned by this, as the current treaty has prevented battle for nearly seventy years…but that’s about to change.

Of four roommates with interwoven stories, Cleve Polken takes focus as a hostile warrior who feels more comfortable in a duel than a conversation. Never getting past his parents’ death, Cleve has developed a crippling fear of psychics, for some may have the power to resurface the torment he buried within himself upon his parents’ passing. Cleve’s forced to face this fear head-on when he discovers that not only is one of his roommates a psychic, but that he has an overwhelming attraction to her, which he quickly attributes to a psychic spell, nothing more.

By the time an army of savage, reptilian men called Krepps become involved in the war, all hope of resolution without battle is shattered. In this powerful army, one born with the inability to smell doesn’t have the same feeding urges as his fellow Krepps and is outcast because of it. He finds himself with an unlikely ally in the middle of a crossroad, trying to find a way to reunite with his sister. Little does he know how much his choices will twist the fate of the war and alter the lives of the four human roommates forever.

By using the energy of the land, some humans have found they can develop extraordinary abilities. At the age of seventeen, these warriors, magicians, chemists, and psychics are allowed the opportunity to train at the Academy, increasing their opportunity for a well-paying career. But there’s a catch. They must fight beside the Army if requested by their king. Most aren’t concerned by this, as the current treaty has prevented battle for nearly seventy years…but that’s about to change.

Of four roommates with interwoven stories, Cleve Polken takes focus as a hostile warrior who feels more comfortable in a duel than a conversation. Never getting past his parents’ death, Cleve has developed a crippling fear of psychics, for some may have the power to resurface the torment he buried within himself upon his parents’ passing. Cleve’s forced to face this fear head-on when he discovers that not only is one of his roommates a psychic, but that he has an overwhelming attraction to her, which he quickly attributes to a psychic spell, nothing more.

By the time an army of savage, reptilian men called Krepps become involved in the war, all hope of resolution without battle is shattered. In this powerful army, one born with the inability to smell doesn’t have the same feeding urges as his fellow Krepps and is outcast because of it. He finds himself with an unlikely ally in the middle of a crossroad, trying to find a way to reunite with his sister. Little does he know how much his choices will twist the fate of the war and alter the lives of the four human roommates forever.

As far as I know, this is B.T. Narro's first attempt at writing, and honestly, it shows. There are a few gripes I have with the story, but first, the good: excellent world and a very interesting take on magic and political intrigue. The bad: well, the characters aren't amazing. They stem from a singular personality to me that purposely tries to make you think what the author wants you to think about them through dialogue instead of through actions. You'll frequently be told the motivations behind something a character says instead of inferring it through reactions, and you'll be told from the opposing viewpoint. Many times you'll read "XXX knew he/she didn't mean it" instead of allowing the characters to have natural reactions in conversations. Virtually every sentence uttered by a character was followed with either a statement regarding the tone or intent, a description of the surroundings, or italicized internal dialogue, as if the author was trying too hard.

The decisions characters make also seem to play more to a desire to craft a "good triumphs over evil" than what the character would actually *do*. They're just too one-dimensional.

If you can get past those aspects, it's an interesting read for a fairly unique world.

As the story opens in Kyrro, in southern Ovira, we meet a group of young first-year Human students who are on the way to the Academy, a three-year school where they will train to be warriors, chemists, psychics and mages in order to take their place in the Kyrran army should the country go to war with Tenred. It's a war that's been avoided through a series of tenuous treaties for the last 70 years, but it looks like the peace might soon be over.

In almost no time, the novel switches its focus to the north, near Tenred, where a group of Krepps (large warrior reptiles who speak and walk upright) are going about the business of their daily lives. Soon, however, two of them are singled out to go on a secret mission that will increase the chance of that war to a precipitous degree. It's also a mission that will mark them for death.

The tensions are dramatic, but what makes this story come alive is the author's success at creating a compelling group of interesting characters who are able to interact with others AND grow within their roles. As the book revolves back and forth between these two worlds, and then factions within those worlds, the characters display an organic chemistry that not only helps them to grow, but creates a rich variety of gripping embroilments that propel the story forward.

There's Cleve, a warrior who might be a giant of a man but he is a complete novice when it comes to romance. There's Zoke, a Krepp whose small stature and distaste for meat mark him as peculiar and weak. There's Reela, a beautiful psychic who must keep her Elven background secret from those in power or she will be marked as a manipulator of minds. There are Doe and Haemon--two Slugaris described as legless bulbous masses the shape of a slug, with claws--who have turned against their own kind and seek the extinction of their own species.

As one reads BASTIAL ENERGY, it becomes plain to see there is no way the story will resolve itself within one book, and it's a credit to Narro that I had no problem with that. In fact, I would have felt cheated had he tried it. Whether it be romance, family secrets, vengeance, greed, historical imperatives or destiny that drives it, there is much that arises within the pages of this first novel that really seem like the story will have more than enough "energy" to go on for a second and apparently third novel. In fact, there is more than one character who looks to be facing a very dicey fate at the conclusion of this novel, and I'm sincerely interested in what is indeed going to happen to them.

All in all, BASTIAL ENERGY is a compelling book, and Narro looks to have a rich series on his hand which I, for one, am looking forward to reading to its conclusion.Read more ›

If you are a fantasy reader you are going to love Bastial Energy by B.T. Narro. This is one of the best fantasy books I have read in a long time. The action and adventure will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The author's story telling style kept the story moving and the plot twisting. I really like the way he developed the storyline, it was both exciting and believable. With each new plot twist I could hardly wait to see how it would all came together.

I really liked each of the characters B.T. Narro created for this story. They were both real and easy to identify with. I like the way I could get lost is the story and follow each character as an unseen companion.

Bastial Energy by B.T. Narro is an excellent fantasy novel and I highly recommend it to all readers.

[Please note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.]

B.T. Narro has imagined, evolved, and provided a world in which any reader can relax and go along for the ride. With unique characters and a lively new world, Narro has created a story of not only life changing events, but also an insight into the conflicting thoughts of betrayal, fear, and love. The connections between family, friends, and races can literally be felt as the story and bonds grow. Cleve, a boy who strives for relief in solitude and training, experiences first hand the swirling chaos of change, friendship, and love. Readers watch as he grows from his experience, and crave more time when the story comes to an end. Through world building and character development of immense perfection, Narro has given readers the building block to an amazing new series that promises adventure, excitement, and the satisfaction of a story well done.

I haven't read many fantasy books but Bastial Energy is by far the best written.I loved the unique world Narro creates with complex and believeable characters that draw you in and keep you engrossed till the amazing ending.it was suspenseful reading with lots of plot twists, I couldn't put it down!can't wait to find out what happens next....

More About the Author

B T (Brian Thoele) Narro was born in 1985, in San Francisco, California, where he still lives. He loves intricate stories with surprises, humor, romance, but above all, deeply developed characters and worlds that are so real they seem to live on once the novel is finished. This is what he strives for as a writer.

Brian's passion for fantasy started in middle school. He had a lot of inspiring teachers, one of which was his sixth grade English teacher, Rick Riordan (long before he was famous), who loved to enthrall his students by masterfully telling Greek myths from memory.

By sophomore year in college, Brian had finished his first full-length novel. Although immensely proud of it at the time, Brian eventually realized his friends were being generous when they told him it needed work. Years after graduating with his bachelor's degree in creative writing, he continued to scribble down scenes for the same story as he worked as a customer support representative at a computer game company.

An injury to his hands left him unable to use them for more than turning on the television, so working a mouse and keyboard eight hours a day was completely out of the question. Between recovery exercises and visits to many doctors, Brian used voice recognition software to start writing seriously again, which served as a cure to his painful boredom and a distraction to his even more painful injury. Workers comp eventually ran out, and his hands hadn't improved much. Living with his parents, and suffering from an injury that seemed as if it may be permanent, his mood was morose at best. But his novel, Bastial Energy, was nearly done. He published it and was overjoyed at the result of more than a thousand purchases in the first month.

Now Brian is a full-time author. He still uses voice recognition software, but more so out of preference than necessity, and--while he loves his parents--he's thankful to have moved out of their home. In terms of writing, Brian likes to outline the entire novel before writing the first draft. He loves to write and feels thankful he can spend every day doing just that.

Visit B.T. Narro's new website for insight from the author about each book, high definition maps, and more: www.btnarro.com